Back to the Future for safety

Sheee’s Baaaackk…….Following a lot of pressure, um, positive encouragement, SJ is back with her first blog since, as she says, “falling off the perch” – see the original blog here at Riskology

Back to the Future for safety

by Sarah Jane Dunsford

30 years ago is a lifetime for some.

Some people in the safety industry state that the change in the safety legislation was the most exciting changes in safety over the last 30 years, well it was supposed to, but the tsunami of changes were yelled from the mountain tops, a bit like the Y2K saga with businesses running for the mountains in terror to prepare for the changes where the changes were a mere ripple in the oceans.

Taking the DeLorean back in time in 1989 – we wore flat tops, listened to the Beastie Boys and wore double denim.

If you ask me, ‘what’s changed’ the answer could be not much – my favourite shoes are a pair of knee high flat tops and who doesn’t love singing ‘fight for your right’ while doing the housework!

Back to the Future II had Marty McFly, Doc and Jennifer travel in their awesome time machine to 2015, but little did they know that some of their predictions have also helped the safety industry to get with the program and out from behind the table.

Virtual glasses

Is Marty wearing google glasses at the breakfast table?

Although not common, they are something that is in the market, and from a safety nerd’s point of view, exciting research is being done with these glasses to do all types of safety training without having to get down and dirty.

Image donning a pair and walking through an incident during investigation training, I say bring it on!

Video calls

Remember when safety meetings had to be held via phone only or face-to-face, there were no other options.

I love the ability to skype or video call people from other offices to have a committee meeting, or to discuss important safety issues.

Microwave Meals

In the film it shows a 12 second hydrator plate, which grows into a meal-sized pizza.

Although we don’t have that, we have microwave meals and the dehydrated foods for those who are on foot and in remote areas, for example hikers and soldiers.  They are light, full of nutrients and easy to hydrate to eat so a great safety improvement for those travelling on foot.

So what did the film get wrong?  Well, we are not all flying around in cars, like the DeLorean, and with the increasing emphasis on environmental impact I don’t know if this will really “take off”.

Hoverboards would not only be awesome but would reduce the wear and tear on your body from the traditional skateboarding, with a much smoother ride. Surprisingly a company is looking at launching a prototype this year.

Marty got wet in the film, and his jacket dried itself and the laces tied themselves up. A few weeks ago I borrowed a jacket from a friend which had heaters in the breast pockets, so we are getting there, but not quite yet.

Imagine shoes that lace themselves up, no more tripping, no more ‘ban the lace’ at mine sites and pregnant women wouldn’t have to struggle to bend over and do up their laces.

Work that involved a bit of a splash, just get out and bam your dried in a jiffy.

One thing the film emphasised too much was the fax machine.

They are so five minutes ago! When someone asks me if they can fax something to me my head tilts to one side and the look of confusion answers their question.

Little did they know that smartphones, tablets and the family of ‘i’s would take the world by storm, I’d love to see what the predictions are for the next 30 years!

The technology is moving at such a fast pace and the biggest thing we need to do in the industry is keep up.

If you’d like to know more about how Riskology can help you keep pace and even get ahead, please contact us.